


i'm gonna have it all someday

by hanyolo



Category: Parks and Recreation
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Season 3 AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:28:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25529701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hanyolo/pseuds/hanyolo
Summary: Ben is the worst. And by worst she means that he is adorable and is totally not terrible face-wise. But she still kinda hates him - no matter how cute his butt is - for wanting to slash their budget. And sure, it was nice of him to get Freddy Spaghetti back and, okay, sometimes they'll share a joke at the start of the EBTF meetings but that's it.// what if ben and leslie became friends during pawnee's government shutdown
Relationships: Leslie Knope/Ben Wyatt
Comments: 5
Kudos: 36





	1. chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hello! this is another fic that I found on my laptop from five years ago. it is finished but ao3 was acting up and it took me so long to format this that I have no timeline for when the whole thing will be posted. but it is finished!  
> anyway, hope u enjoy,, thanks for reading!!

Ben is the worst. And by worst she means that he is adorable and is totally not terrible face-wise. But she still kinda hates him - no matter how cute his butt is - for wanting to slash their budget. And sure, it was nice of him to get Freddy Spaghetti back and, okay, sometimes they'll share a joke at the start of the EBTF meetings but that's it. She hardly ever stays back to talk to him afterwards - usually she is too angry with him - unless she wants to plead her case some more. They get into a lot of arguments during, and after, these meetings and a lot of her time is spent fighting to keep the budgets of departments that have nothing to do with her department which he doesn't understand at all.

Every time Ben brings up a new slide of the PowerPoint presentation during this current meeting, he sees Leslie open and close her mouth. He knows she wants to argue with everything he is saying and is pretty impressed with her self-restraint. Until he puts up a slide about cutting down the frequency of buses and then he sees that fire in her eyes and knows what's coming.

"You can't cut public transport," she cries, leaning forward in her seat.

"It'll still run, just every hour or so."

"Every hour? Are you insane?"

He doesn't know whether he wants to laugh or roll his eyes. He settles on reminding her, for the thousandth time, that Pawnee doesn't have the funds to run everything like it has been.

Leslie slumps back in her seat, eyes narrowed, but he is not at all placated that she has given up because he knows that it means she is saving her energy for a bigger fight. She is pretty tame for the rest of the meeting, only rolling her eyes at some things he says, making a snarky comment here and there. She finally blows when he tells them that all libraries will remain open and probably won't receive any cuts.

"What the Hell, Ben?" Leslie jumps out her seat and she's got crazy eyes and Ben kind of fears for his life. 

"The library?" she hisses. "Let's just get rid of everything and build libraries everywhere!" 

She is pacing now, waving her hands about, and she looks insane. But also angry enough that he doesn't want to be the one to interrupt her. 

"Libraries? Are you freaking kidding me? Libraries are the root of all problems in this town. We should be burning them down, not saving them." Ben dismisses the rest of the committee which goes unnoticed by Leslie who is on a roll, ranting about libraries and Satan and Tammy and _what the Hell, Ben?_ He sits at the desk and lets her talk, figuring she will tire herself out. After twenty minutes, she is still going strong - "Do you even know what this town is called, Ben? It's called Pawnee, Ben and it's the greatest city-" - when he interrupts. 

Also because she's started saying his name after every second sentence or so and it's kind of freaking him out.

"Leslie-"

"And what about the children, Ben?"

He steps in front of her, placing his hands on her shoulder."Leslie, stop."

She blinks up at him then looks around the room, bemused.

"I sent everyone home," he explains. "It's after five."

"Oh, sorry," she says sheepishly. "You should have stopped me."

"I figured you'd just tire yourself out."

"Impossible," she beams up at him. "I haven't slept since Saturday."

"Leslie - it's Tuesday."

"I know. But how am I supposed to sleep with this whole budget mess going on?"

"Yeah, I don't know how healthy that is. Do you need me to drive you home?"

"Don't be ridiculous. Anyway, I'm gonna pick up some waffles from J.J.'s, then head home to work on more ideas. Bye, Benji."

That woman is unstoppable, Ben thinks to himself, smiling as she skips out the room. And he doesn't even mind when she calls him Benji.

The first thing Ben asks her the next day is if she got any sleep.

"Two solid hours," she tells him proudly.

Over the next few days, Ben starts to notice a change in Leslie. She has bags under her eyes; she isn't as enthusiastic as before; she hardly has it in her to argue with him anymore. That doesn't stop her, of course, but he can tell she is exhausted.

On the day of the last meeting - the rest of the budget cuts are solely up to Ben and Chris - Leslie turns up early, as always, with some kind of iced coffee drink that is mostly whipped cream and a pile of binders (he can now see that they are labelled "Idea Binders") under her arm.

"Hi," she greets, letting the folders drop onto his desk.

"What's this?"

"My idea binders," she tells him, mouth full of Nutriyum which she starts to dip into her whipped cream.

"Did you get any sleep last night?"

"Like an hour. But I spent most of the night finalising these." 

She slaps the binders so Ben reluctantly picks one up and flicks through it. They're all good ideas - obviously, this is Leslie Knope - but none of them are plausible in the city's current economic state. She only looks slightly disappointed when he says this; he figures it must be all the sugar she has consumed. Halfway through the meeting, Leslie nearly falls asleep. The inevitable crash from her sugar high. Ben almost loses his train of thought when he notices her cramming three Nutriyums into her mouth at once and still manage to look cute. This gives her enough energy to argue with him for the rest of the meeting.

Leslie hangs back while the other committee members trail out, most of them desperate to start, what they see as, their holiday."

Hey," she says, almost shyly. "Thanks."

"For what?"

"For putting up with my crazy."

Ben laughs at this and she smiles, relieved that she hasn't just made things awkward.

"Thanks for making these meetings less boring," he counters. She lets out a loud laugh and he finds himself asking her if she wants to get some dinner before he can stop himself. She tells him he'll have to drive because there's a 70% chance she will fall asleep.

They end up going to J.J.'s and picking up some food to take back to Ben's motel room.

"Waffles aren't dinner food," he tells her as she settles, cross-legged, on the dingy motel bed, smiling at the plate of waffles in front of her. "And that's a lot of cream," he adds. Is it possible to overdose on sugar? Because he's pretty sure she might.

"If I could," she says, dipping her finger in the cream and licking it clean. "I would have breakfast food for every meal of the day. Some days I do."

They spend the next few hours talking and laughing. He tells her more about his time as mayor, she tells him about her time as class president. She tells him that she is a mediocre cook but an excellent baker - he's the other way around. Around nine, they turn on the T.V. Ben is ecstatic to discover old Star Trek reruns. Leslie spends the first twenty minutes complaining, before falling asleep. Soon, Ben is also asleep. 

When he wakes the next morning, Leslie is still out cold. He showers; he gets dressed; he goes to get them breakfast. How is she still asleep?

She finally wakes around two, looking slightly disoriented and very confused.

"Hey," Ben says softly.

"Hey," she sits up, rubs her eyes. "What time is it?"

"After two. You've been asleep for about seventeen hours."

"I usually only sleep three or four hours," she tells him. 

That might be the problem, he thinks. He doesn't tell her this. Instead he tells her he brought her breakfast but she took too long to wake so he ate it himself. She thanks him anyway, sounding genuinely grateful despite not being able to eat the waffles herself. Another thing he likes about her.

Leslie goes for a quick shower before dressing in the same pants from yesterday and a t-shirt and hoody of Ben's.

"Thanks," she tells him when he drops her off at her car, back at City Hall. "I had a great time."

"Me, too." He smiles at her and she somehow ends up giving him her number in case he wants to hang out again.

"I'll call you," he says before getting back into his car. And she really hopes he means it.

.

Leslie spends the next few days trying not to obsess over work. She hangs out with Ann a few times but her best friend still has a job she's actually allowed to do right now. She even convinces April to meet her for coffee and contemplates crashing a Duke Silver gig - does Ron honestly think she hasn't known for years? - but decides against it. Leslie really wishes she hadn't let Ben keep her idea binders.

Ben finally calls her Wednesday afternoon while she is making a half-hearted attempt at cleaning her house. So far she has thrown out two sachets of salt and some receipts from 1997.

"I would have called sooner," he tells her. "But I've been swamped at work."

"How are the budgets looking?" It's a long shot but maybe he'll slip up. He doesn't. Instead, he ignores her question and asks what she's doing.

"Just a little bit of spring cleaning," she tells him.

"Need a hand?" He doesn't bother to point out that it's June.

Normally she doesn't invite anyone over to her house ever - Ann's only been over a handful of times - but she's bored and she likes Ben. And maybe she can convince him to let her help him with work. So she gives him her address and he tells her he's just leaving the office and will be there soon. 

"Will you stop rubbing it in that you can work and I can't?"

Ben's initial thought when he enters Leslie's house is _what the hell?_ There are boxes stacked everywhere, the only clear space between the sofa and the television. There is no room on the coffee table for anything other than the stacks of magazines that he'll bet date back to the 90's. His second thought is that this actually makes a lot of sense. As someone who spends most of her time at City Hall, it's understandable that Leslie doesn't put as much care into her home as she does her career.

"If you have your own waffle iron," he says when he spots a waffle iron hidden beneath some old curtains, "Why are you always at J.J.'s?"

"I broke it the day I got it," she says sheepishly. She likes that he hasn't said anything along the lines of or _do you know you're a hoarder?_ He may have thought it, but she's glad he hasn't said it aloud.

They manage to get a lot done, despite Leslie trying to tell Ben the story behind almost all her possessions. Soon, there are only a few boxes left that Leslie reluctantly agrees to store in the guest bedroom. The guest bedroom which is immaculate, by the way. This had confused Ben to no end. The boxes mostly contain photographs and newspaper clippings. One contains a few outfits that Leslie hasn't worn in about fifteen years but can't bear to part with. Mostly tie-dye and acid wash denim.

"The 90's are making a comeback, Benji," she had defended.

"I wish," he had replied wistfully. 

.

Ben and Leslie start hanging out a lot. At first, she'll only call him up if Ann's at work or if she doesn't have plans with anyone else from the office. After a few weeks, she finds herself leaving Ann's early to invite Ben over. Like a booty call but, instead of sex, they stay up on her sofa chatting about everything and anything until one of them falls asleep.

One weekend, Ben is driving up to Indianapolis in order to pick some stuff up from his old apartment and Leslie has always wanted to visit the State House so, of course, he asks her to come with him.

"This is where you should be working," Ben tells her as they walk down the halls of the State House.

"I think I'd miss Pawnee. Look how boring these murals are."

Pawnee has the weirdest history, but Ben would never say this to Leslie. She still isn't over the formation of Eagleton which occurred two hundred years ago.

"Have you never even thought about it?"

"Well, yeah. But it doesn't seem that realistic."

_You don't even know how amazing you are_ , Ben thinks, a small smile gracing his face.

"You're bigger than Pawnee," he says softly, and, for the first time in a long time, she believes it. 

They arrive back in Pawnee just after ten. Ben pulls up outside her house and she doesn't even have to ask if he wants to come in. He's been to her house enough by this point that he definitely feels at home. Hell, he knows his way around Leslie's kitchen better than she does. And his belongings have gradually started to turn up all over her house (not that she minds). His shampoo sits beside hers in the shower; he has some clothes in a drawer in the spare bedroom; the spare toothbrush has now become his toothbrush. 

It definitely feels like they're dating, just without the actual dating part. And they're both surprisingly okay with that.


	2. chapter 2

Tom's birthday is at the end of July and he celebrates it by inviting everyone to the Snakehole Lounge. Ben had been surprised upon receiving his invite and also bemused because is the Snakehole seriously the only club in Pawnee? He is debating whether or not to turn up - he's already an hour late - when Leslie texts him.

_Where you at, Benji?_

He hates how fond he's grown of the nickname he used to hate.

_Running late. Be there soon._

Everyone is already very drunk when he arrives and he knows he has a lot of catching up to do. Tom and his weird friend - Jean Ralphio, he thinks - are hitting on a group of girls; Chris is talking to Andy; Donna is dancing up on some guy who looks like he is really enjoying himself.

Ben goes to the bar and orders a few shots because, if he knows Leslie, she will already be extremely drunk, and being sober around drunk people is the worst. He sees Leslie sitting in a booth in the corner with Ann and takes over some shots and some beers.

"Hey," he greets. His face is already feeling warm.

"Ben, hi!" Leslie moves round to make room for him and he slides in beside her.

"Here," he gives them each a shot of vodka and a beer even though it's clear Leslie doesn't need anymore. Ann probably doesn't either, but that doesn't stop them.

"We were talking about Chris," Leslie yells over the music. "And whether or not Ann should do him."

"Leslie!" Ann cries. "Not in front of Mean Ben."

Do they seriously still call him that? It's definitely the tamest name he has been called during his time as a state auditor. And it's just so Leslie that he can't even bring himself to hate it.

"Of course not," she slurs, placing her hand on his arm. "Only sometimes," she jokes before downing another shot.

"How much have you had?"

"Off the chart," she hiccups and her eyes cross for a second before focusing on him. He is confused for about four seconds before he remembers the drink driving chart she carries about.

"I have work at eight," Ann laughs. She won't be laughing in the morning.

"I have work soon, right, Ben?"

"I don't know, Leslie. I'm not allowed to discuss this with you."

It was worth a try. And it'll be worth another try when she gets a few more drinks in him.

They order more drinks and soon Ben is pretty sure he has caught up with Leslie. Ann leaves around eleven because, even when drunk, she is aware that the only thing worse than working an eight hour shift with a hangover is a twelve hour shift.

"I've been thinking," Leslie says and he has to move closer to hear her. "About what you said when we went to Indianapolis. I think you're right. I need to dream bigger than Pawnee. But I don't think I'm ready to leave all this behind."

Before he has a chance to respond, Tom sits across from them and slides two glasses, which are verging on pitchers, towards them.

"Hey, Mean Ben." - _Seriously?_ \- "Happy birthday, Tom."

"My birthday was yesterday."

"Hey, Tom," Leslie reaches out and grabs his hands. "What's in this drink?"

"A cocktail Jean Ralphio came up with. It's got like ten different kinds of alcohol in it."

"Really?" Leslie's face lights up at this. She lets go of one of Tom's hands so she can try it. "This is amazing. You have to try this, Ben."

"Anyway," Tom says, ignoring Ben as he chokes on his awful cocktail that is so strong and doesn't taste nice at all. "Jean Ralphio wants to dance up on you. He told me to tell you to ditch Mean Ben so he can make you feel good."

"Tell Jean Ralphio I'm flattered, and no way in hell.""

This is going to ruin his night. He totally has a crush on you."

"I love you, Tom," Leslie calls as he walks away to give Jean Ralphio the bad news. "And I miss working with you!"

They sit in silence for a few minutes. Only when they have both finished drinking Jean Ralphio's wondrous concoction, does Leslie speak.

"Hey, Benji," she says, tilting her head to look up at him.

"Hmm?"

"I don't think you're mean."

He smiles and brings his arms up around her shoulders as she leans into him and closes her eyes.

"We should go," she says after a few minutes. "But I don't know if I can walk."

It looks like everyone else is getting ready to leave, too, so Ben stands - with some effort - and helps Leslie up. He places his hand on the small of her back in a somewhat futile attempt to steady her.

They end up in the hot tub limo - more specifically, they end up in the hot tub - which Jean Ralphio had rented for Tom. Even Andy and April, who Leslie knows aren't on speaking terms, join them. April had stripped down to her underwear and got in the hot tub and Leslie, being as drunk as she is, and incredibly thankful that she had chosen to wear nice underwear, had thought it would be a great idea to join her. Tom and Jean Ralphio are huddled at the front, giggling, while Ben and Andy look to be in deep discussion.

"Ugh, Andy is the worst," April grumbles. 

Leslie loves drunken girl talk almost as much as sober girl talk so how could she ever pass up an opportunity for girl talk with April? This is like a dream come true.

"Boys are the worst, amirite, girlfriend?" Leslie holds up her and for a high five and the only reason April complies is because she knows Leslie is too wasted to ever remember this.

"Like, he doesn't even realise why I'm mad at him. As though I wouldn't have a problem with him kissing Ann."

Leslie vaguely recalls a conversation with her best friend about said kiss. Should she betray the best friend code for the sake of what could be true love? Was that in the terms and conditions? She doesn't remember, but it should be.

"April! Ann kissed Andy and he laughed in her face."

April watches as Leslie downs another glass of champagne and maybe she should stop her before she ends up drowning in the hot tub but she should probably talk to Andy first.

"Um, thanks or whatever." 

April gives Leslie the briefest of hugs, absolutely making Leslie's night, before exiting the hot tub. She wraps a towel around herself before making her way over to Andy.

"Hey, Mean Ben, maybe you should supervise Leslie before she passes out in the hot tub."

Ben looks over at Leslie who is smiling to herself as she pours champagne into the hot tub and definitely looks like she could pass out and drown at any moment.

"So," April begins once Ben has left them alone. "Leslie told me what happened with Ann."

"I didn't even see Ann tonight."Andy frowns and she thinks it's kind of adorable how clueless he can be sometimes. Only when she's not mad at him, though. Because, then, it's infuriating.

"Not tonight, dummy. When she kissed you."

He at least looks like he knows what she is talking about now so she continues, telling him that she's not completely over it but she's not angry anymore.

Andy smiles at her and they sit in a comfortable silence, which he breaks a few minutes later.

"What do you think's going on there?" he asks, motioning to Ben and Leslie. Ben is also in the hot tub now, fully clothed, and sitting awfully close to Leslie as they drink champagne and laugh together.

"Leslie's really drunk," April reasons. Andy seems to buy it but she's 80% sure there's much more than drunken flirting happening.

They decide to call it a night around four in the morning. The limo (which takes an hour to get back to Pawnee - seriously, where the hell had they been?) drops Andy off first, then April. Ben doesn't even pretend to look away as Leslie climbs out the hot tub, in nothing but her underwear, and dresses without bothering to dry herself first. When the limo pulls up outside her house, she hugs Jean Ralphio, who enthusiastically returns the hug. 

"Don't tease me, Knope," he tells her. "You know I'm crushin' on you."

"Goodbye, Jean Ralphio," she smiles before following Ben out the limo. 

Both are still too drunk to care to what conclusions Tom will jump. And if Ben wraps his arm around her waist as they walk down the driveway, that's only to stop her from stumbling.

They go through their usual nightly routine, both changing into pyjamas - for Leslie this means pyjama trousers and one of Ben's t-shirts - before reconvening on the sofa.

"God," Leslie groans. "I haven't stayed out this late since college." She swings her legs up onto Ben's lap and lays back.

"Speak for yourself," Ben jokes, letting his hands drape over her calves.

"Ben," she murmurs, eyes fluttering closed. "When can I go back to work?"

He settles back on the sofa, smiling softly. "You're impossible."

Leslie is woken by someone knocking incessantly on her front door. Groaning, she lets her eyes adjust to the light before trying to shift Ben. At some point during the morning, she had ended up hanging half off the sofa, at the weirdest angle, with Ben using her stomach as a pillow, one arm wrapped around her middle. God, he's cute.

"Ben, move," she grumbles when the knocking still does not stop. He mutters something before untangling himself from her and going back to sleep.

It's Ann, armed with waffles and aspirin and lots of coffee.Leslie has never been more grateful to have her as a friend.

"God bless you, Ann Perkins," she says, taking everything out her hands and placing it on the coffee table.

"Whoa, it's really tidy in here." 

Last time Ann had been over, a few months ago, the house had returned to the state it had been in before the woman from the rec centre had helped clean it.

"We tidied it a couple weeks ago." Leslie settles back onto the sofa and Ben repositions himself so his head is resting on her lap. Both are too hungover to care that they don't usually snuggle. Maybe this will change things, Leslie muses as she drops her hand onto his back. 

Ann, back from her inspection of the rest of the house (seriously, it's ridiculously tidy in here) finally notices Ben. More specifically, how close Ben and Leslie appear to be.

"And why is Mean Ben on your sofa?" she demands.

"Enough of the Mean Ben," Ben grumbles, voice muffled by Leslie's thigh.

Ann gasps, pointing at them accusingly."Did you sleep together?"

Ben bolts up at this and they try to put as much distance between themselves as possible. 

"What? No." Leslie reluctantly stands up. Eats some of her waffles before continuing. "The hot tub limo didn't drop us off until five this morning so we came here and crashed on the sofa."

Ann isn't even going to ask about the hot tub limo. And she's kind of confused as to why Leslie would invite Ben back to her house, then she realises. The men's toiletries in the bathroom, the random pieces of men's clothing scattered about the house, her growing DVD collection."Does Ben live here?"

"How could you even think that?" Actually, she can definitely see how anyone would think that. "We've just been hanging out."

"Since when?" Ann asks, at the same time as Ben says,"You haven't told her?"

Leslie looks around the room, awkwardly avoiding eye contact. She really wishes her house were messy again so she could grab some random object and make up a fascinating story about it that would both interest them and distract them from the current situation. She eats some more of her waffles to buy some time.

"Whatever," Ben says, standing and making his way to the spare room. "I'm going for a shower."

Ann waits before the door closes before turning back to Leslie."So?"

So she tells Ann everything. How they first went out after the budget meetings, during which they had shared some jokes. How they went to Indianapolis together, went to the mall a couple times, went to a carnival a couple towns over.

"Now he just - I don't know - stays over a few nights out the week."

"So you're dating?"

Leslie shakes her head even though it sounds a whole lot like they are. Also, she kinda wishes they were.

At that moment, Ben comes out the spare room carrying a towel and some clean clothes. Leslie manages to intercept before he makes it to the bathroom.

"Hey," she says softly.

"Hey."

Ann sits on the couch and pretends to be engrossed in a surprisingly recent copy of Time. Even though she is totally listening to everything they're saying in order to properly assess the level of their relationship. Because even if they don't realise, it sounds like they are pretty into each other.

"Look," Leslie says, "I'm sorry I didn't tell Ann."

"Yeah, why didn't you?"

It never came up, sounds like the worst thing she could say at this moment in time.

"I don't know. Is it any of her bidness? Whatever, man." _Oh, God. Leslie, stop_. "It never came up. You know what it's like. Why didn't you tell Ann, amirite? Have you even told Chris?"

"Actually, yes."

"Oh. What did he say?"

"He was so happy that he cried."

That sounds like Chris.

He also warned Ben against romantic entanglements, but he's not going to bring that up now.

"Look, I get it," Ben continues, his towel dropping to the floor as he raises his arms in exasperation. "Why would you tell anyone? I'm just Mean Ben."

"You're not Mean Ben." She says softly, reaching out to grab one of his hands. She smiles when he squeezes her hand. "And I guess I didn't tell anyone because I like having you to myself. Everyone thinks you're Mean Ben, and I like being the only one that knows who you actually are. Nice, Cute, Sweet Ben." 

With a really cute butt, but she isn't going to tell him that.He lets her hand drop and she feels a moment of disappointment. Then he is hugging her. It takes her almost no time at all to reciprocate the hug.

"I'm sorry, Benji," she murmurs. And Ann has never felt more like a third wheel.

When Ben is done in the shower, he finds Leslie and Ann cuddling on the sofa, watching Avatar. His DVD, he notes. Leslie smiles up at him - she loves his hair like this, floppy and messy and so cute.

"Do you want to watch Avatar with us?"

He does, more than anything. But he had also overheard Leslie and Ann's earlier conversation and yeah, they are basically dating, so, yeah, maybe he should back off a bit. "I think I'm gonna head back to the motel."

Her face falls and knowing she is disappointed shouldn't feel this good. Then the guilt kicks in. Sure, he still spends two or three nights a week at the motel, so she shouldn't be surprised, but those are the nights when he has work the next day. Leslie knows he does not have work tomorrow.

She walks him to the door anyway and they awkwardly say goodbye with a kinda half hug, half handshake. And she calls him Benjamin, which is weird for both of them.

As soon as the door is closed, Ann bombards her with questions. Mainly _what the hell, Leslie?_ And _why aren't you together yet?_ She really doesn't know.


	3. chapter 3

Leslie doesn't see Ben for days. She texts him a few times: his replies are brief and strangely formal. He finally calls her on Wednesday, just as she's seriously contemplating phoning him up and asking what his problem is.

They go for breakfast at J.J.'s and she fills him in on all she's been up to since Saturday. Mainly work. Also, she finally bought a functioning waffle iron and is working on making the perfect waffle.

"Are you okay?" she asks Ben as she sprays whipped cream onto her empty plate. He's acting really weird. And he's wearing his Letters to Cleo t-shirt, which she's learned is never a good sign.

"I'm fine," he says, glancing around the diner, running his hand through his already messy hair, tearing up his napkin into tiny pieces. She raises a disbelieving eyebrow. He insists he's fine so she goes back to her cream.

They go for a walk through Ramsett Park and Ben finally starts to relax. Soon enough, it's as though the weird, awkward morning never happened.

Until he tells her that she will be able to go back to work on Monday. Of course, she is so excited that she hugs him with everything she has, and kisses his cheek, and hugs him again. His body stiffens and he's sure his eye is twitching but she is too busy rattling off new ideas to notice.

"This is amazing," she tells him. "I need to go. I need to plan. Thank you, thank you, bye." She hugs him one last time before skipping away.

That night, Leslie fills up six and a half idea binders.

Ben finally decides he doesn't care that he and Leslie spend way too much time together. He misses her and he likes her company. So he takes her to dinner on Friday and, sure, they only go to J.J.'s, but it totally feels like a date. 

He stays over at her house for the first time in a week. His heart skips a beat when he realises that all his stuff is exactly where he left it. They go to the mall on Saturday, then have an all-night Harry Potter marathon. She insists, however, that he spend Sunday night at the motel because she needs a full night of sleep (a full four hours, more like) before returning to work the next day.

.

Leslie honestly thought returning to work would be the best ever. And it is, in some ways. She loves being around her friends, she loves being in City Hall again, she loves coming up with new ideas. But all the budgets are frozen and what's the point in coming up with all these amazing ideas if she can't do anything about it?

Then it hits her. She frantically dials Ann's number, then has to redial three times before getting it right.

"Ann? It's Leslie. Leslie Knope from the Parks Department."

"I know. What's up?"

Leslie glances around her office to make sure no one is within hearing distance. Tom is having lunch with Donna so she figures her office should be safe for up to three hours."Is Chris still asking you out?"

"Twice a day."

"Excellent. So, I think you should go out with him. Then subtly bring up the parks budget."

"What? No. You're practically dating Ben - can't you ask him?"

"I'm not hanging out with him so he'll give us more money," she snaps, hanging up the phone. Then she sends Ann twelve apology texts.

.

Leslie and Ron have a meeting with Chris and Ben. She is kind of dreading it; she doesn't really know how she and Ben are supposed to act around each other at work.

Professional on the brink of nervous breakdown, she thinks when they arrive at the meeting. Chris greets them in his usual cheery fashion ("Ron Swanson! Leslie Knope!"). Ben shakes her hand, refuses to make eye contact and has he always had a twitch? He ignores Ron completely.

Leslie makes it through the first half of one binder before Ben stops her.

"Leslie, these are all great ideas-"

"I know." 

He almost smiles."But they're just not possible. No departments are getting funded for new projects."

"Except the library," she says bitterly. Ben's pretty sure he hears Ron growl. Then he remembers Leslie telling him about Tammy Two and understands.Ben looks flustered and adorable and when did he have time to mess up his hair? so she turns her attention to Chris.

"What about Lot 48? Technically that's an ongoing project."

"Ben has told me all about Lot 48! It will literally be the greatest park in America!"

Ben accidentally makes eye contact with Leslie. She smiles sheepishly at him - oh, God, is she blushing? That's adorable - before looking back to Chris.

"I really wish there were something we could do. A shark tank sounds delightful. Is there anything we can do, Ben?"

"What? No."Ben makes accidental eye contact with her again and she is glaring at him, her face scrunched up, which shouldn't look as cute as it does. He just stares her down, even when her crazy eyes make an appearance. Eventually, Chris excuses himself to go for a run and Ron has to drag Leslie out of the room. She doesn't look away. Just tells Ben that she'll be back soon with an idea that's so amazing, he'll be begging her to let him fund it.

No one is surprised when she presents the Harvest Festival idea a mere two and a half hours later.

.

They go to the Snakehole Lounge to celebrate and Ben doesn't know how any of them will make it to work the next day because they are all drunk within the first hour. He also doesn't know what they're celebrating. Probably being back at work, or possibly the 50% chance they'll all lose their jobs should the Harvest Festival fail (he really doesn't think it will). What he does now know, however, is the reason they always go to the Snakehole Lounge. It makes a lot of sense that Tom owns a share in the town's sleaziest nightclub. Even the Bulge is better. Also, Leslie gets free drinks there so why is she not at the Bulge every night? It would save her a lot of money, he thinks as he watches her down her third - possibly fourth - drink before dragging Jean Ralphio to the dance floor.

Leslie lets Jean Ralphio dance up on her until he gets too handsy. Then she sends him away. Undeterred, he tries to dance with Donna. Then April. Leslie thinks April might be playing hard to get in regards to Andy because she doesn't push Jean Ralphio away like Donna had.

Leslie has a brief conversation with Chris - apparently, the Harvest Festival is literally the best idea any American has come up with in over one hundred years. The last Harvest Festival was in 1989 so she's not sure how that works out - and shares a friendly nod with Ron, who buys her a drink, before heading to the bathroom.

When she comes out the bathroom, Ben is waiting for her.

"Hey," she greets excitedly. "How are you?"

"Were you hanging out with me so I would give the Parks Department more money?"

A look of hurt passes across her face (he almost feels bad, but he has to know) and is soon replaced by one of anger.

"What the hell, Ben? Is that really something you think I'd do?"

"I don't know, Leslie-"

She can barely hear him over the music so she grabs his arm and practically drags him outside. It's cold but she's too hopped up on alcohol and anger to care.

"I just think," Ben explains, "that in the meeting today, it kinda seemed like you were expecting me to say yes to all your crazy ideas."

"Crazy? You told me my ideas were great."

"Why the hell would you put a statue of a pony in Ramsett Park?"

"He is a miniature horse," she hisses. "And he is a Pawnee treasure."

"And a shark tank. Really?" He had actually found all her wacky ideas for Lot 48 adorable, along with her excitement over the mini horse (which he does not get at all) but he's drunk and maybe he's just looking for a reason to argue with her.

"You know what, Ben? Is it too much to think that maybe I just enjoyed spending time with you?"

"Leslie-"

"I've been trying to convince everyone today that you're not Mean Ben, but you're really acting like him right now so maybe I was wrong." Great, now he feels like a dick. "And for the record," she continues, "today I tried to convince Ann to go out with Chris so they could discuss the Parks budget. She asked why I couldn't just ask you for the money, and I hung up on her. Because that's not what this has been about, Ben-"

Then he is kissing her. Or she is kissing him. Either way, they're kissing each other and it's excellent. His lips are soft and his hair feels amazing between her fingers. He backs her up against the nearest car - she's pretty sure it's Ron's. Ben's hands are everywhere; Leslie is so glad she wore a dress, especially when one of his hands trails up her bare thigh. The other is at her waist, thumb brushing the underside of her breast, and she doesn't care that they're in public because his ass feels better than she ever dreamed it would. And he seems to like her ass too. Then he's kissing her neck and he's probably giving her a hickey but everything feels so good and she never wants him to stop. Leslie removes her hands from Ben's butt for one painful second in order to bring his mouth back up to hers. Then they go back down. His thigh is between her legs and she thinks she lets out a moan but she's not sure because someone is standing in front of them, clearing their throat.

Oh, God. It's Ron.

Ben pulls away suddenly and Lesley closes her eyes, takes a moment to get her breath back.

"I should go," Ben says gruffly. He is gone before Leslie even has a chance to stop him.

Ron clears his throat again and makes a point of looking away from Leslie.

"Need a ride, Knope?"

She just nods, unable to form any kind of word or sound. She just knows she won't be able to look Ron in the eye for at least a week.

It's only when she glances at herself in the side mirror does she realise that a) her hair is a mess, and b) most of her buttons are undone and her black lacy bra is on show. In other words, she looks thoroughly made out with. And, yes - that's definitely a hickey.The drive home is spent in silence. She can't be the only one feeling awkward here. Her boss just caught her dry humping Ben. This is humiliating.

"Be careful," Ron says as he pulls up outside her house. She has a feeling he is not talking about the twenty second walk to her front door.

The first thing Leslie does when she gets in is call Ann. Actually, the first thing she does is put one of Ben's hoodies on over her dress. Then she calls Ann.

By the time she remembers that Ann is working first thing in the morning - the reason she hadn't come out, which she thinks is a lame excuse because so is she - her friend has already answered.

"Leslie? Is everything okay?"

"Ann, Ben and I made out."

"What?"

"We made out and it was amazing and I was feeling up Ben's ass and his hands were everywhere then Ron caught us and Ben left. Also we have a meeting with Ron tomorrow and I don't think I'll be able to look at him ever again."

"Okay - wow. Do you like him like that?"

Does she like him? She liked making out with him; she likes spending time with him; she likes his butt. She tells Ann that she will make a pros and cons list and get back to her.

Leslie passes out at her kitchen table - she may or may not have opened a bottle of red wine - while reviewing the list. The alarm on her mobile wakes her at six thirty like it does on the few mornings she isn't already awake.

It takes her a moment to remember why she isn't in her bed. Then she looks down and sees the poorly written, difficult to read pros and cons list. (It's really difficult to write when you're drunk, okay?)

_Cons:_

_He's leaving soon - how soon?_

_Professionalism_

_Does he like me?_

_Pros:_

_Similar interests_

_Funny_

_Have fun together_

_Cute_

_Excellent kisser_

_Amazing hair_

_Butt_

And so what if she had underlined butt several times. He does have a great butt.

Now Leslie is sober, however, she isn't entirely sure of what step to take next. Does she actually like him or does she just like kissing him? Both, she thinks, smiling as she remembers the events of the night before. Then she remembers Ron. Oh, God.

In an attempt to avoid an awkward situation with both Ben and Ron, Leslie turns up to the meeting five minutes late. Also, because she had to pull over on the side of the road because she thought she was going to throw up. Thankfully, it had been a false alarm.

She is too hungover to deal with anything this morning. Hell, she had been too hungover to even get dressed and had just thrown on a dress and one of Ben's hoodies.

As luck would have it, Chris is also running late. Leslie enters the conference room to find Ron watching Ben, eyes narrowed, and Ben making that stupid, adorable face he makes when he gets too close to cops. She tentatively sits across from Ben. 

The awkward silence is killing her. 

Ron clears his throat, claps his hands together, and they are both extremely thankful when Chris enters before he has a chance to say something.

"Sorry I'm late," he says. "April Ludgate was telling me the most interesting story. Did you know her parents are part of a traveling circus? So fascinating. Anyway," he continues, completely oblivious to the tension in the room. "Harvest Festival!"

The meeting goes terribly. Ron is too busy glaring at Ben to say anything useful - not that he usually has any valuable input anyway; Ben is awkwardly avoiding eye contact with both Ron and Leslie; Leslie has forgotten her binder and is too flustered to remember any of her ideas. Chris sends them away to "refresh their minds with a healthy snack, or perhaps a light jog". Like either of those things is going to happen, Leslie scoffs to herself. One glance at Ben lets her know that he is thinking the exact same thing.

Leslie and Ron walk back to the Parks Department in silence. They pass the shoeshine stand and Andy turns away from a disgruntled Kyle to greet them.

"Ron, Leslie - hey!" He pauses, a grin breaking out on his face as he points at Leslie. "Is that a hickey?" He holds his hand out for a high five and she instinctively complies before cringing. She had tied her hair up as soon as she got out the shower that morning. She really wishes she had left it down. No wonder Ben had been acting weirder than usual.

"Who was it?" He stands excitedly, Kyle forgotten. "Was it Ben?"

"What? Of course it wasn't Ben. Gross. Why would you even think that? Ben is the worst. I think it just happened naturally. It's probably a rash. "

"My bad," Andy laughs. "Just thought you guys had a thing, is all. Guess April was wrong."

"I hope you know what you're doing," Ron tells her when they arrive back at the office. Part of her loves that, after years of forcing him to spend time with her, he is finally starting to care. The other part wants him to leave her alone and let her make out with Ben's stupid face.


	4. chapter 4

The next few weeks are spent planning for the Harvest Festival and avoiding Ben. Leslie throws herself into her work and, if she needs Ben's help with anything, she sends April to negotiate with him. It's turned out great because he is still quite scared of her and ends up signing off on things he wouldn't necessarily have allowed were she the one asking.

April had been annoyed at first. Then she and Leslie had had a heart to heart regarding Leslie's relationship with Ben. She had cried and April had comforted her. Then pretended the moment hadn't happened.

"You should just go for it,” April had said when she dropped Leslie off at her house. "And if he's not into you then he's dumber than I thought."

The younger girl hadn't even rolled her eyes when Leslie asked her to get Ben's signature on some forms the next day.

It had, at some point, hit her that she had not just gambled her own career, but that of her co-workers and friends. She is living off of Nutriyums and caffeine pills because she refuses to let them lose their jobs due to her recklessness. So she stays at work until ridiculous hours - some nights falling asleep on the floor by her desk, surrounded by binders. When people ask about it, she doesn't tell them that she hates going home because Ben's things are everywhere.

Ann eventually convinces her to take a night off and, because it's Barack Obama's birthday, she throws a party in the office. Pretty much the whole town is invited but only the Parks Department turn up. Also Ben and Chris.

"Leslie Knope," Chris greets, grinning broadly as he points at her with two fingers. "Barack Obama is literally the greatest president since George W. Bush."

Ben snorts, unsuccessfully passing it off as a cough, and Leslie's stomach flutters.

"Hi," she says quietly.

"Hi."

Chris, oblivious as always, excuses himself to catch up with the wonderfully delightful Donna Meagle.They both start speaking at the same time and Leslie smiles shyly, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"Sorry," she mumbles. He returns her smile and they kind of stare at each other, bashful grins plastered on both of their faces.

"We're extending our stay here," Ben finally says. "Until after the Harvest Festival."

Her face falls slightly and she chews on her bottom lip nervously.

"What's wrong?" He shoves his hands in his pockets before he does something stupid like reach out to comfort her, or kiss her.

"It's kind of a big deal," Leslie says quietly. "The Harvest Festival, I mean. If I fail, my friends lose their jobs."

"You won't fail," he tells her, not a hint of uncertainty in his voice. She can't fail, and not just because then she'll lose her job - he knows she is aware that her job is also on the line, not just that of her friends - but because, in all his time as a state auditor, he has never seen anyone want anything more, work harder, or even deserve anything more than Leslie Knope does. He wants her to succeed more than he has wanted anything, and that includes when he ran for mayor.

"You have too much faith in me," she murmurs, fingers playing with the hem of her shirt as she refuses to look him in the eye.

It kills Ben when she puts herself down like that. He'd almost rather she spoke about herself the way in which pretty girls who know they are pretty do. Not that there's anything wrong with those girls, he just wishes Leslie could see what he does. She is constantly calling Ann beautiful because she doesn't believe she is and, yes - Ann is very pretty, but so is Leslie. And he hates that she doesn't realise how terrific she is. "You don't have enough," he says softly, surely.

She finally meets his gaze, finding herself unable to look away. He blushes, awkwardly shuffling his feet and she bites on her lip to hold back her smile. God, he's cute.

Before he has a chance to say anything, she is being whisked away by Jean Ralphio and Donna is forcing a glass of champagne into his hand. He downs it, not even bothering to point out that they shouldn't be drinking alcohol on government property.

Leslie is flattered, if not slightly unnerved, at Jean Ralphio's attempts to court her. She listens to him sing for a few minutes but excuses herself to talk to Ann when he starts getting too close.

"What's going on?" Ann asks, pouring more champagne into Leslie's glass.

"Jean Ralphio is weird. But very talented."

"What? I meant with Ben?"

"Oh - uh, that was the first time we've spoken since we kissed."

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

She shakes her head, downs her drink. Because she does want to talk about it, just not at work. Definitely not in front of Ben.

Leslie finds herself catching Ben staring at her a couple times which is annoying because he's the one who walked away from whatever their relationship was so, why is he giving her these looks? She successfully avoids him for the rest of the day. Even turns down Tom's suggestion of moving the party to the Snakehole - in case Ben decides to go - in favor of watching movies with Ann. 

.

The week before the Harvest Festival, Ben is working late at the office. He decides to call it a night just after nine. On his way to the exit, he goes via the Parks Department because it totally takes less time than going any other way. (It doesn't.)

Leslie, unsurprisingly, is sitting on the floor in front of her desk, surrounded by paperwork and take-out containers from J.J.'s. He smiles to himself and is about to turn and leave when he notices her shoulders are shaking and yeah, she's definitely crying. Ben stands in the doorway, unsure whether he should comfort her or leave. Decision made once she chokes on a sob, he enters her office, strides across the room and wraps his arms around her before she even notices he's there. Leslie stiffens in his arms for a couple seconds. Then she realises it is him, and hugs him tightly, sobs now muffled by his shoulder.

"Sorry," she murmurs once she has eventually managed to stop crying. Other than Leslie bringing a hand up to wipe her eyes, neither of them move from their position on the floor. "I'm just really stressed," she says. "None of these numbers are working out. I can't do it-" her voice cracks and her eyes are tearing up and it breaks Ben's heart.

"Hey, it's okay," he says. "I can help you."

"Really?" Leslie lifts her head to look up at him and he can't help but smile at her smudged mascara. He cups her face with his hands, gently wipes the mascara away with his thumbs. 

"Of course."

They stay there all night; sitting on the floor in Leslie's office, going through paperwork, looking over budgets. He manages to help her with everything that has been stressing her out in only a couple hours. And they even manage to fit in a couple hours of sleep, slumped side by side against her desk, shoulders pressed together.

"I feel like there's no point in going home," Ben says as the first sunlight of the day streams through the blinds. He leans his back against the desk, lets out a long sigh.

"Probably not." Leslie moves to sit beside him, their bodies touching from shoulder to knee. "Thank you."

"It's no problem."

She turns to face him, smiles softly as he stifles a yawn.

"When I was little," she recalls, a wistful smile gracing her face, "my dad used to take me to the Harvest Festival. We would ride the Ferris wheel, get lost in the corn maze. He always let me eat way too many funnel cakes and my mom would get mad because they made me sick."

"That sounds nice," Ben says softly, looking at her with so much affection that she is finding it increasingly difficult to not make out with his stupid face.

"He was the greatest. But he died when I was ten and, a couple years later, the festival was slashed due to budget cuts. I don't know," Leslie turns away from him with a long sigh. "I just want this festival to be something he would be proud of."

"How could he not be?"

She looks up at him and, okay, their faces are really close - when did that happen? Glances from his eyes to his lips, back up to his eyes. He is definitely staring at her lips.

Just as she is leaning to close the gap between them (she is 85% sure that Ben is also leaning) there is a loud bang as someone crashes through the door.

"Oh, hey, guys," Andy says, looking up at them from where he is lying on the floor.

Leslie doesn't even bother to move away from Ben, just lets out a sigh as she turns her head to face Andy, who she notices must have tripped over something in his rollerblades.

"Hi, Andy. Why are you here so early?"

"This is easier to rollerblade on than carpet," is his vague reply, as though that answers the question as to why he is at city hall at five-thirty in the morning. Weirdly, they both understand what he is trying to say. 

"I'll go," he says, pushing himself off the ground. He falls a couple more times before finally managing to stay up by leaning heavily against the doorframe. "You guys looked super busy." 

He gives them a not-so-subtle wink before catapulting himself through the door. There's a loud crash, followed by an "I'm okay!” Then silence.

Leslie turns back to Ben who is making a big deal out of trying to be subtle about not making eye contact with her. She rolls her eyes.

"Why do you always do this?" she demands.

"Do what?" He still won't look at her.

"I like you, Ben. But I'm not going to wait around for you to make up your mind."

"I do like you, Leslie. I really like you." He turns to her, his eyes boring into hers with such intensity that she almost wishes he would look away again. But he doesn't. If anything, he moves closer. "I travel a lot," he begins, as though she isn't all too aware that he will be leaving Pawnee in a couple weeks. "I'm never in one place for too long so I don't make friends and I don't date. What's the point? Then I came to Pawnee, where everyone wants to be my friend for some reason. Leslie - I like you, a lot, but I'm leaving soon-"

"I don't care," she cries. "I know you're leaving - it's all I think about, but why shouldn't we at least see where this goes?"

Ben stands up. Paces, sighs, runs a hand through his hair. Eventually, he turns back to face her.

_Because I can see myself falling in love with you._ Of course he doesn't actually say this.

"Because we'll both end up hurt."

Leslie stands up too. "And why do you get to make all the decisions?" she demands, hands on her hips as she stares him down.

"Just drop it."

"You're an ass. We were practically dating all summer so I don't understand why you're making such a big deal out of this. But if this is how you feel, then maybe we just shouldn't see each other again."

"Dammit, Leslie," Ben sighs. He raises his hands in annoyance, drops them, starts to pace again. "That is the opposite of what I want."

"Then why are you acting like this?" she yells, more frustrated than she has been in a long time.He stops moving, turns on his heel to face her. 

"Because I don't think I could leave you behind and be okay," he cries.

Leslie is frozen on the spot. She doesn't know what to say to that. All she can do is continue to stare at Ben, wide-eyed and slack-jawed, as he stands in front of her, shoulders shaking as his eyes bore into hers. She doesn't know how long they stay like that, but the silence is soon broken by the murmur of conversation, getting louder and louder as the Parks Department slowly file in.

"It's so early," they hear April complain.

"The Harvest Festival is in a couple of days," Jerry reminds her cheerily. "And we did promise Leslie we would do anything to help."

There is a chorus of _shut up, Jerry_.

Leslie and Ben finally break eye contact when Tom enters the room carrying two large coffees. He places one on his desk and, after realising that Leslie must have been up all night, rolls his eyes and hands her the other one. She looks away from Ben to thank Tom and, when she turns back, he is gone.

"That was weird," Tom says, settling at his desk.

Leslie ignores him. She feels an uneasiness in her stomach because, even though Ben hadn't said a word, it had definitely felt like goodbye.


	5. chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading! hope you've enjoyed this!

The Harvest Festival goes off without a hitch. Naturally.

Even without last minute budgeting advice from Ben, whom Leslie hasn't spoken to since the morning of their big fight. She's pretty sure that he's supposed to be leaving for Snerling the day after the Harvest Festival ends.

"Good riddance," she tells Ann several times - the biggest lie she has ever told anyone in her entire life. More like bad riddance. Is that a saying? It should be. And okay, so she doesn't get to ride the Ferris wheel with the cutest guy in Pawnee, but they make enough money from the Festival to save the Parks Department.

So, obviously they're going to celebrate.

The celebration takes place at the Parks Department. Everyone is buzzed, if not drunk, from the champagne Leslie picked up on her way over. D.J Roomba is getting under everyone's feet, blasting a selection of terrible rap songs from Tom's iTunes library. Jean Ralphio is mixing awful cocktails which taste like nail polish remover. They drink them anyway. 

Chris shows up around nine. He has one glass of champagne, doesn't bother to remind them they shouldn't be drinking on government property. He thanks them for being so welcoming (even though they weren't at all), tells them to keep in touch, and cries when he tells them how much he is going to miss them. Then he leaves to sweat out the sadness on a light half marathon before bed.

Leslie finds herself glancing at the door every couple of minutes. She isn't expecting Ben to turn up - why would he? - but she desperately wants him to. The party dies down at midnight. Ben never shows. Sweet, beautiful Ann, sensing her best friend’s sadness, offers to spend the night. But Leslie turns her down.

"I don't even care," she lies. "Whatever."

"Call me if you need anything," Ann says, hugging her one last time. 

Leslie, unable to get to sleep, sits at her kitchen table planning her next big project, when the doorbell rings. At 2A.M., really? She hopes it's not Jean Ralphio bootycalling like he has done in the past. She turns him down every time; when will he give up?

It's not Jean Ralphio. It's Ben. An adorable-looking Ben in an adorable cardigan with adorably messy hair.

"Hi," he says awkwardly, hands shoved in his pockets as he kinda bobs his head a bit.

"Hi."

"I came to tell you that I got offered a job. With the Pawnee government. Basically my current job but here. Permanently here. In Pawnee."

"Um, wow. Are you going to take it?"

"Yeah, I don't know. I was hoping you could help."

"I'm not going to tell you to stay," she says. "This is a big deal. You need to be the one to make this decision."

"I know. I just - I don't know. I couldn't sleep and I wanted you to know."

"You should make a pros and cons list," Leslie finally says.

"Yeah? I think I will." Ben hovers in the doorway for a minute, shifting balance from foot to foot, head still bobbing.

"Hey," Leslie calls when he turns to leave. "Want to watch a movie?"

They end up watching reruns of Star Trek, like they had the first time they had hung out together outside of work. Leslie jokingly complains about it as Ben sits beside her - probably too close, considering their last conversation - but doesn't change the channel. Tipsy and exhausted from the Harvest Festival, she lets her head drop onto his shoulder, falls asleep almost straight away. An episode and a half later, Ben is also asleep.

Leslie doesn't see or hear from Ben for the rest of the weekend. They had woken on Saturday morning, eaten breakfast together in an unbearably awkward silence, then she had gone for a shower and he had left. By Sunday evening, she misses him a ridiculously unreasonable amount and finds herself wishing he will stay. Because, yeah, he had been right - there is no way either of them will be okay if he leaves. Not for a long time.

Ben had gone back to the Pawnee Super Suites and, with Chris back in Indianapolis, spends the whole day holed up in his room.He sits at the wobbly desk, paper and pen in front of him and writes ' _reasons to take new job'_ , and underneath that, two columns: _pros_ and _cons_.There are probably more cons than there are pros and Ben knows that should tell him something but he also feels like there are more pros he hasn't yet thought of.

Another con: _no inter-office dating_. Ben pauses. Thinks of the only person in Pawnee he'd want to date. Thinks of her laugh, her terrible jokes, her head resting against his shoulder as she sleeps. Pushing his current list to the side, he grabs a new piece of paper and scrawls _'reasons to stay in Pawnee_ '.

.

"Hey."

Leslie looks up from her computer to see Ben standing awkwardly in the doorway of her office.

"Hi." 

He glances at Tom's empty desk - Leslie has no idea where he is, probably out with Donna or Jean Ralphio. But not both because Jean Ralphio is rightfully terrified of Donna - before walking to stand in front of her desk, clutching a pile of papers in his hands. She meets his gaze and quickly looks away. Does the same again. The silent exchange of glances lasts a good few minutes. 

"I think you should stay," Leslie says, finally breaking the silence, at the same time as Ben says,"I made a list," and thrusts the papers in his hands towards her. Reaching out to take the crumpled pile from him, Leslie gives him a wary look. She smiles when she sees he has taken her advice. The smile fades, however, when she sees which side of the list is longer. There are so many cons, on both lists. So many cons that prove he would be stupid to stay. 

_Had this job over a decade_

_Citizens are weird_

_Do I want to leave my job?_

_Small towns means less work._

And many more valid cons that definitely outweigh the pros. Then she turns the paper over to read the pros. There are only three items listed. 

_Leslie_

_Friends_

_J.J.'s_

"Ben-" she says softly, bottom lip tucked beneath her teeth as she looks up at him.

"I'm staying," he clarifies and she laughs because what a dork. "But I'm not taking the job, because I want to be with you. I mean, if that's what you want."

He watches her carefully, nervously shuffling from one foot to the other as she rereads his list. 

_Leslie, friends, J.J.'s_. It's not unlike her own personal mantra: _friends, waffles, work_. Or _waffles, friends, work_. (Either way work is third.)

But not to Ben. Work doesn't even rate with him. But she does. He put her before his career - that means more to her than he could ever know. _Leslie, friends, J.J.'s._

He put her first, and she finds herself wanting to do the same with him; maybe she'll have to revisit her mantra. Leslie looks up at him, smiles.

"That's what I want."

.

Ben moves in with Andy and April because the Pawnee Super Suites is fine when you know it's not permanent, but even then it's kind of terrible. Andy, so excited to have Ben as a roommate, constantly tries to start marshmallow fights, water fights, tickle fights. Any kind of game that has fight in the name, really. April, so horrified at having Ben as a roommate, eats his food from the fridge (even though it very clearly has his name on it), stands over him while he watches T.V., invites Orin to the house to stand over him while he watches T.V.

Naturally, within a month, he has moved in with Leslie. 

"My motto hasn't changed," Leslie tells the camera the day Ben officially moves in with her. He had started spending more and more nights at her place until, one day, she had suggested he just move in. There had been no hesitation in his answer. She is standing outside her house; Ben can be seen in the background, struggling with a box that probably isn't as heavy as it looks. "Friends, waffles, work. I stand by that." She glances back at Ben, smiling at him fondly. He brings one hand up to wave, almost dropping the box. Leslie laughs fondly as he scrambles to hold onto it. 

"Ben is my friend. With benefits." She turns back to the camera, an affectionate smile gracing her face. "The benefit being that we love each other."She looks at Ben again - who is now bent over the box he had eventually dropped - and smirks. "Also sexy times."


End file.
